The Kalos Conspiracy

A draconic duel

Ash, Serena, Clemont, Korrina, and Bonnie walked through the front doors of Hammerlocke gym with faces that suggested they were on a mission, which, to be fair, they were. That morning Ash had went into the Pokémon centre and signed up for the Galar league, knowing full well he probably wouldn't have time to actually compete in it. "Oh well", he thought to himself, "I'm sure I'll come back here in a few years anyway."

His gym challenge attire was alike to his regular jacket, but had the colours swapped around. The shirt was white with a deep blue strip running from top to bottom. All the holes of the shirt were also bordered by deep blue strips. On his back was his chosen trainer number, 42, also in blue.

"Good luck Ash!" Serena wished.

"We're counting on you to fish Raihan out of there." Clemont said.

"I'll be back before you know it." Ash stated confidently, and walked into the gym.

The gym was a simple circular room with a table and a couple of chairs in a corner. On the chairs were Raihan and his gym assistants. The leader looked up from his phone, taking notice of Ash. "Hey mate, you here for a gym match?"

"Yeah, can we do it now?" Ash replied.

"Sure thing. How many of the other badges have you gotten?"

"In Galar? None." He admitted. "But I've been fairly successful in other regions."

Raihan chuckled a bit in response. "I see. Well just to let you know, I'm the strongest gym leader in the region."

"So it'll be a good fight then."

The Galarian smiled at the confidence of the boy and checked the time. "2.48pm. The next match slot is in 12 minutes, we can get going." He led Ash out onto the battlefield.

"Wow, this is huge!" Ash exclaimed in awe. The battlefield was a lot bigger than most he'd seen in his time, it and the stadium it was encased in were comparable to the national ones of other regions.

"Big, right? The fans here are quite passionate." Raihan laughed, thinking of past experiences surely. "Wait till you see the Wyndon Stadium."

"I'll be sure to check it out sometime." Ash noted as they reached the centre of the battlefield, surrounded by the roars of the crowd.

"Good luck. Not that you think you'll be needing it." Raihan smiled.

"A bit of luck never hurts." Ash smiled back, and both walked to their respective trainer boxes.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another Hammerlocke gym match, the 4th of today!" The commentator announced. To Ash, this was starting to feel more and more like an actual league match. "This time, challenging Raihan is a trainer hailing all the way from the Kanto region, Ash Ketchum! Our leader so far today has went undefeated, can this lad be the one to change that?"

The referee floated down on his hovering lectern and positioned himself in the centre-edge of the battlefield. "This will be a 4v4 double battle between leader Raihan and challenger Ash. The battle will be over once one side has no more available Pokémon to battle with. Substitutions are allowed. Trainers, please call out your Pokémon!"

Raihan, as the leader, was the first to call out his Pokémon. "Sanaconda, Flygon, it's showtime!"

As the Sanaconda appeared on the field, the winds immediately began picking up, filling themselves with sand. Pedestals lifted themselves up in the trainer boxes, providing the two trainers with safety goggles to protect their eyes from the sandstorm. "I see how it is." Ash said to himself. "Goodra, Noivern, let's go!"